Repeating mechanism for talking machines



May 24, 1927. 1,629,986

s. B. BAT-rr-:Y ET AL REPEATING MECHANISM FOR TALKING MACHINES Filed nec. 5. 1919 INyENToRS 1 n? 'Zi @a5/59 Patented May `24, A19h27. i

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

s'fiiit'irait is.' BA'riEY ANii :BRYAN N1. BATTEY, or NEW YORK, N. Y.

` REPETNG MECANISM roarA'LxING MACHINES.

Appnation med December 1919. seran No. 342,79o.

This invention relates to repeating mechanism for Vtalking machines and aims to provide certain improvements therein.

Various repeating mechanism for phono- 5 graphs or the like have been Vheretofore proposed, .butso far as weare Vaw'arethese khave not. been' successful, due to a variety of causes. According to vthe present invention, we provide adevice ofthischaracter which lo, isfcertain in its operation, which` 'does not involve any possible marring ofthe record .which `does not require any superimposed member upon the disk and which is capable Vofuse in connection with records of all sizes. Our .invention introduces what webelieve to be a new feature of repeating mechanism 'construction inthe provisionV of means which is attached. to the tone arm or sound box, and Y which vby frictional contact with the face of therecord `causes thextone arm and sound box to travel laterally .from the end of the sound grooves back to -`the beginning thereof. Such lmeans areV preferably so constructed that the laterall travel ofthe sound box is caused by an oblique' arrangement of lthe movingmeans with relation tothe record; that is to say, the axis of the frictional 'de'- vice is out of parallelism with any of the radii of the record, or-in other words, the device itself lis arranged with a degree of obliquity to what may be termed a tangent of the circular record. The travel ofthe record beneath the moving means therefore causes an outward movement of the latter so that it describes a spiral on the face` of the record whichv with a few turns of the latter causes the sound box andtone armV totr'avel to the requisite` vstarting position. yThe invention also in yludes whatwe believe tobe a new feature of construction, namely, the provision of means for lifting the sound box at the end of its playing travel to a position wherein the needleV is out of contact with the record, such means being preferably arrangedfso thatit is normally slightly out of contact with the record, but is moved to contact therewith by `a catching or tripping device, and during suchinove-` ment it elevates the solindbox andholds the latter with the needle out of contact vwhen the. initialposition isr restored, f 1.

` In carrying the invention intowefiect, we prefer that the frictional device shall bein vthe form of a small `disk.inadelof'rubber,- Afelt or other `friction material, whichA is mounted upon. the sound boxy so that itis capable of swinging tol a point below the latter. At the end of the playing movement a tripping mechanism located on the sound box is caught by a deviceflocatedupon or above the record, thereby causing thev Wheel to engage'the record andl lift the sound box, the wheel traveling under the soundk box until slightly beyond the pivotal center of the wheel, at which point the needle is sufficiently elevated to permit it to travel tothe beginning of the sound grooveswithoutl engaging'the record. f y The inventionialso includes other features of improvementwhich will be hereinafter more fullyv described. I

vIn the dravvings,wvlierein we have shown 'one embodiment of -the invention,-

Figure l is an elevation of the rearside of a soundV box showing the needle in playing position; i f f Fig'. 2is ja similar elevation the sound Y box hasV been elevated. i .Y

Fig. 3 is a plan showing a portion'of the record. i

UFign 4 is ay view Fig. 3;., Y, f

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of a detail of the tripping mechanism. l

'Referring to the drawings, let A indicate looking to l right the sound box of'a phonograph or talking machine of the disk type, B the record and C the tur11-.table.' The sound box is supported upon the usual curved section D of the tone arm,"4 which is pivotally mounted in the straight section E thereof, so that the sound b ox, iscapable `of swinging upwardly and downwardly, the weight of the vsound box being ,supported by `the needler in contact with the record ask shown in Figs.1 and 2. These partsare of any usual construction,

`nur nerous examples of,V which are to be found vslide orroll uponjthe face ofthe record. i

We' prefer, however,to use arotarydevice which ,rollson the record, suchas .the friction wheel Thetraveling device of whatever form iS Se mounted ,upon Athe Sound box or section D that when `brought in con# 'boxwill, of course, travel'inwardly to reset it in rplaying-position. Assuming, however, thatzthe record-B is of the character rst described, and is rotating in the direction of the arrow inFigt'S, it will be observed that the wheel G, being arranged with its a-xisfobliquely to oneof the radii of. the record, will describe a spiral path which will -carry it and the sound box and the toney arm outwardly'until the" wheel finally rolls' off the edge ofthe record. Assuming that during the travel of-the fdevice outwardly to resetting position the needle is elevated as shown in Fig. 2, it willy be observed that when the wheel Gr reaches the periphery of the record, the' sound boxl willvbe dropped untiltheneedle again engages they record. lItwillY be alsoobserved that beca-use of the fact that the wheel G travels in a spiral path it will roll off' the record gradually so that the sound box Vwill be lowered gradually instead of 'beingdroppech' thus-avoiding a forcible Contact of the needle with the record. The same generalA operation will take place if the wheel G is replaced by a non-rot-ative member, such as a skid. The wheel G is preferably adjustably mounted upon the shaft as by being mounted on a nut G which screws snugly in a fserewthread formed kupon the shaft. By this means the needle may be' adjusted to drop into any predetermined groove or to accommodate different margins on the records.

Having thus described the malin feature of operationby which the reverse movement of the sound box is secured, we will now lrefer more in detail to the means whereby the operation of Vthe traveling member is governed. .I

- Referring to Fig. 3, it will be seen that the wheel or disk G is mounted upon-a shaft H. This shaft H is carried upon a hinged section I (Figs. l and 2) which is pivoted at J to a plate or bar "Il The pivotal mounting of the shaft H hence permits the wheel to assume the position shown in Fig. 1, wherein it is raised out of contact with the record, and wherein the needle F is in playing position, to the position shown in Fig. 2, where the wheel is in Contact with they record, and the'nee'dle has been raised out ofthe sound groove. During this movement the sound box and swinging portion lD of the tone armhave been elevated, this beingpermitted Vby the swivel connection 'sound box.

-is swung around its pivotal axis into contact with the record, thereby elevating the The swinging movement carries the wheel into the position of Fig. 2 where its axis is moved slightly past the pivotal axisJ of its hinge, at which point it isarrested by some suitable means, suoli as the stop .Ml Then this movement is effected, the wheel'will maintain its operative position againstthe action of the spring.

fThis'is` due to the weight of the sound box -wliiehdholdslithe arm I against the stop M. The means we prefer to employ for moving the wheel is best-shown in Fig. 3 and comprisesa knife edgev N carried upon'a bar N, which -is mounted to slide on the block N2, preferably containing a rubber washer N3 which fits over the stud of the turntable and holds its position'on the record by frietion. Preferably tliebar N is formed with ratchet teeth N4 which are engaged `by a ypinion N5, by means of which the knife edge -N may be adjusted easily in a direction'which is substantially radial to the record, whereby the precise point of operation is adjusted'to the ending of the sound groove in the individual record. A screw, or similar device NG is preferably arranged in the block N2 by the adjustment of which the rubber washer Nrs can be compressed both for the purpose of increasing its grip on the central stud and for the purpose of producing a frictional hold on the ratchet barN. The holding of the knife edge member by the rubber washer is important, since a firm frictional connection is thereby secured. The washer and its socket may be tapered, if desired, and the rubber washer introduced into its socket under pressure.

The knife edge N, which rotates with the record, is engaged by a similar knife edge (D fixed to the sound box, which knife edge is best connected to the armlas illustrated in Figs. l to 3. The knife edge N is prefably curved at its engaged end as shown, i

and is engaged by the knife edge O when thev needle is traveling at the end of the sound groove with the effect that the knife edge Ol rides up on the curved Surface of the knife edge N, thereby forcing the wheel G' from the position of Fig. 1 to the positionofFig. 2 and elevating the sound box. Vhen this is done the sound box immediately begins to'travel inthe opposite direction, with the result that lbefore the record has azaeee again turned to brinflgnthe knife edge O into juxtaposition to thel ife ledge N, these two will be laterally separated lso that further engagement is impossible. We have found that the lvuse vvof knife edges as "a setting mechanism, we can very- 'accurately Jgauge the precisepoint `of setting and any missing of connection or stoppage of the record is avoided.

It is advisable to provide means whereby the reverse travel of the tone arm across the of the straight section of the tone arm.

This tends to bring the shaft H in a strictly radial position, in which the wheel G would no longer act to move the sound box.out wardly. Before this point is reached, [however, 1t is desirable that the wheel G shall run gently off the edge of the record and thus lower the needle into the sound groove. However, if the shaft H be arranged with a degree of Obliquity which is ideal for a large record, it is obvious that for a small record the wheel will run off too abruptly, while if it be arranged for a smallrecord it may not reach the edge of the larger records. We hence prefer to provide means for adjusting the angle of the shaft H to the radius of the record disk and this is done inthe construction shown by pivoting the plate K so that it swings around a stud Q, the opposite end of which is engaged by an adjusting thumb screw R swiveled in a bracket By manipulating the thumb screw the angle of the shaft H is adjusted to suit the individual records.

It will be understood that at the time that the wheel G runs off the edge of the record, the needle F will be at approximately the beginning of the sound groove. Upon the lowering of the sound box the spring L comes into operation and restores the wheel Gr to the inoperative position of Fig. 1, in which position it is maintained until the needle F has reached the end of the sound groove, whereupon the knife edges N and O will again'engage to bring the wheel into opera-v tion and again raise the sound box. n

In Figs. 1 and 2 the degree of separation of the needle and wheel from the record are somewhat exaggerated. The actual clearances may be considerably less than that shown.

The device is best attached to the phonograph by 1a split collar T which is yclamped `faafound. thefsound box eby a thumb A'screw 'U.

It may., however, be *arranged in any suitable mannen ithe precise connecting structure depending upon the precise construction -of the phonograph tc-which it gis rlattached. It will be ainelerstcod that we aise the :term connected vto thefsoundfbox toxin'clude Aa connection with the tone arm or other suitable member.

While we have shown and described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be understood that many changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What we, claim is l. A repeating mechanism for talking machines having a. movable sound box, including a member independent of the needle adapted to be engaged with the record, said member co-operating with the record to support and move the sound box in a direction toward the beginning of the sound record, said member comprising means engaging the record and moving along the surface thereof, and adapted to co-operate with the edge of the record, and while still supporting said sound box to lower the sound box until the needle rests upon the record.

2. A repeating mechanism for talking machines comprising a frictional device adapted to contact with the record and by the movement of the lat-ter move the soundfbox across the record, and said device cooperating with the edge of the record to lower the needle into 'the sound groove, and means for ixedly adjusting the angularity of the frictional device with relation to the record.

3. A repeating mechanism for talking ma# chines comprising a frictional device adapted to contact with the record and by the movement of the latter move the sound box across the record, and means for adjusting the angularity of thefrictional device with relation to the record, said means comprising a pivoted support for the frictional member and an adjusting screw for moving said support.

4. A repeating mechanism for talking machines comprising a frictional wheel, a shaft therefor, means for connecting the shaft to the sound box and comprising a hinge member adapted in one position to hold the wheel out of contact with 'the record, and in another position to holdv it in contact with the record, and actuating vmeans rotating with the record and cooperating wi'th said hinge member to-bring'the wheel nto contact with the record to lift the sound `5. A repeating mechanism for talking machines comprising a frictional whee1,.a shaft therefor, means for connecting the shaft to the sound box and comprising a hinge mem-y ber adapted in one position t0 hold the Wheel lll() lout' of r Contact' with vth'erecord,l and -in.1.an- -otherposton toy hold it ncontact with the record, and s'ad hinge member being mounted-upon a pvoted -plate andmeans for tllt 6j Arepeatng' meehanismffor talking machlnes, ha-vmg l means f for engagmg thej recordv for moving the sound box across the recgrooves, :Lvfsupporb for said means', and means si'gnedour. names.

` 1 SUMTERB. BATTEY.

\ BRYAN M. BATTEY. 

